Category: Travel/Vacations

Vacations, haunted locations, day trips, etc

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Hamilton Happenings: Birthdays, Family, and a Scoop (or Two) of Gelato

Posted on by Mama

This happened the weekend of August 8th and though I would generally would have tried to get this out the following week, that obviously didn’t happen. So indulge me while I try my best to recount everything that happened that weekend.

August 8th is one of our nephews’ birthday, so we always make the effort to attend and hopefully make it special for them. He was turning three, the second oldest on my husband’s side of the family. Since he is one of two summer babies in the family, we had a pool party!

My husband’s brother and wife had rented out someone’s backyard with the pool and I can honestly say, it looked like paradise! It was a salt water pool (my favorite to be honest), not too big but the perfect size and depth and Valeria was SO excited to just jump in as soon as she laid eyes on it. Thankfully, I had her bathing suit on under her dress, so all she needed was her floaties. It didn’t take us long before the three of us were in the water, which we would remain 95% of the entire party/day. They had the pool from 11 AM – 6 PM, so a whole day swimming, lounging and having fun.

When I say that Valeria is a fish out of water, it’s no exaggeration. She had no desire to come out of the water and she got comfortable almost immediately. Obviously we didn’t leave her alone, so don’t come after me, but my husband and I want to instill the fact that she doesn’t need to be scared of being in water and not to panic. She would float around and kick her legs, eventually she was quick dipping her face in the water as well. It was fantastic.

The pool party was fun for the kids, lots of food, delicious cake (from what I smelled, it seemed it however I did not partake in the cake) from what I heard, incredible gifts for him and just an all around good time. Just a few minor hiccups, but do you expect anything less with kiddos?! Grumpy Valeria from a lack of a nap (which we managed to peel her away long enough to get her a 45 minute nap on our picnic blanket) and the newest addition getting a bit overheated from the hot weather that day (poor little guy *sad face*). All in all though, great time with the family.

Saturday we were going to attend the Niagara Falls Peach Festival with my mother-in-law, but we opted not to attend. Why? Well, we figured because it was Saturday it would be overcrowded and overpriced as it started the day before. Plus, I don’t do well in large crowds on a good day and I didn’t want the potential of Valeria getting sick from the massive crowd that was probably going to attend that day. So we decided to stick close to home; doing some errands (my husband needed some documents to apply for his Romanian citizenship and I needed to run to the craft store), then we went to a gelato shop and Italian Bakery. I found the bakery two years ago, which is called Castelli Mercato, which is to DIE for. But now they also have a gelato shop next to it called Capri Gelato. I didn’t have any, but man I wanted to! My mother-in-law got hazelnut and pomegranate gelato and Anthony and Valeria got Pistachio. All of the gelato is made in house which is incredible. Valeria was a BIG fan and she kept trying to take from her Buni’s gelato, which she was successful. We went into the bakery afterward and picked up some things and a sweet treat for my husband’s sister and husband.

Once we were done at the bakery we headed over to my sister-in-law’s house to go for a bit of a walk with them and the baby. He is 2 months already and man time is flying! He’s such a cutie and growing like a weed. He took a walk to the park, which was perfect because it had a splash pad and playground with swings for Valeria. We had to keep an eye on the people walking their dogs without leashes, which I don’t agree with when it comes to public areas with young children. But that’s just me! We stayed for a bit so Valeria could play in the water and sit on the swing the remainder of the time while we sat around chatting. It was really nice to spend time with them.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet, we went back to the apartment and had some dinner, ran to the grocery store quickly, played with Valeria and then it was bedtime for her and Buni. My mother-in-law had work early the next day, so she headed to bed early as well.

Sunday, my husband helped his brother to move things from his place to the apartment. They were going to be moving into my mother-in-law’s apartment for a while. I stayed back with Valeria, which worked out because she had to nap at around 11:30 AM-12 PM. She slept quite a bit and the guys got back to the apartment to move everything in about 15 minutes after she woke up. Can we say good timing or what?!

Once they finished, we were heading back home. I made sure everything was packed up and ready to go, which meant just bringing everything to the car, gas up and hit the road. The drive home was quiet, not much traffic and we made it back quickly. The rest of the day was pretty relaxing and thankfully Anthony picked up a salad and store made rotisserie chicken, so I didn’t have to cook that night. Yay!

All in all a very busy weekend, but a good one! Though I will admit it will be nice to have a few weekends at home.

But I hope you enjoyed and I hope you have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Lions, Lyrics & Lakeshore Laughs: Part Two

Posted on by Mama

Welcome back ladies and gents to the sequel!

Saturday was a long day though it was filled with lots of fun and laughter. We woke up fairly early to have breakfast and get ready for the zoo. Yes, you read that right, the zoo! My cousin found a small zoo called Elmvale Zoo and wasn’t too far away. Valeria loves animals so it was the perfect outing to go on for the day.

Breakfast consumed, diaper bag packed, snacks a go, only to be dressed and out the door we went for our adventure to begin. The car ride was quick, though within the first five minutes of Valeria being in the car she squeaked out “All done..” as she proceeded to eat her digestive cookie and closing her eyes. She was food drunk from breakfast and the car ride lulled her to a sleep/wake state of mind.

The parking lot was fairly empty when we arrived, parking away from most of the cars already in there. We made hast to get into the zoo so Valeria could start exploring and expend some energy. She ran to the first exhibit which was reptiles and she squealed with excitement. She knew exactly where she was now and you couldn’t stop her from wanting to see everything after that. They had no bears sadly, but they had all kinds of animals including lions and tigers. Which she kept asking us in her teeny voice “IN!” which we responded “Nope it’s dangerous baby, we can’t go in.” She would get upset for a moment before she moved onto the next thing. Oh toddlers! My daughter is going to be an adrenaline junkie/daredevil I can feel it.

We wandered around, and when we reached the goats, a lovely older couple kindly offered Valeria some of their feed so she could give it to the animals. It was such a thoughtful gesture, and we made sure to thank them sincerely. They were genuinely sweet (something I don’t often encounter these days) and we were truly grateful. Valeria happily petted and fed the goats before making her way over to the llamas.

The whole zoo trip was a few hours spent walking around and admiring the animals and honestly it was great. Valeria had a blast the whole time and it’s so incredible to watch how much she loves animals. It was also wonderful how much time she got to spend with her Zia (auntie).

We stopped in at the gift shop, which was hard to bypass as it was literally the exit point of the zoo. But I did end up picking up a cute tiger magnet for the fridge. I think that’s going to be a thing I do from now on as a souvenir of our adventures. But magnet in hand, off we went to the car to head back to my cousins’ place.

Valeria was incredibly tired and went straight to bed for her nap. My cousin and I made some lunch and then sat around chatting. Once Valeria and Anthony awoke, they had a bit of lunch and we just kind of hung out. When dinner came rolling around, we cooked ate and then decided to head to the local “car show” that happens every Saturday night. Which is really just a bunch of people who bring their classic cars to a parking lot for people to admire while they do a raffle and play music. It was fun nonetheless and I got to see my dream car (however not the year I like), the Chevy Impala. I’m making big dreamy, googly eyes just thinking about it!

My zio wanted to go grab ice cream, but we said no because it was so late and we didn’t want Valeria hopped up on sugar before she went to bed. But he and Valeria did have an impromptu dance party in the parking lot where the car show was being held. Doesn’t surprise me that she likes oldies like mama and daddy.

We headed home and off to bed she went, while the rest of the evening was quiet and we all passed out pretty early.

Sunday was a beach day, more like beach morning since Valeria for whatever reason got tired a bit earlier then anticipated. But she did go in the water with Anthony, I however was not going into the ice cold lake water! She is incredibly fearless, it’s amazing. We obviously had floaties on her, but after she was done in the water, she played in the sand and walked around. Thank goodness I brought snacks because she devoured them before the nap monster showed up. It was time to go and frankly I was over it because it started to get VERY crowded on the beach come 12 PM. We packed up and went home.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet to be honest; nap, lunch, playing, went to another farmers market, dinner, walk and bed shortly after. I couldn’t pack that night but it wouldn’t take long in the morning anyway. Again, we all passed out pretty early.

On Monday, it was time to head back home. We woke up, enjoyed breakfast, and got ready for the day before I packed everything up. Once the car was loaded, we shared our thank-yous and said our goodbyes. Parting from my cousin was difficult, but I’m hopeful it won’t be another seven months before we see each other again. The trip was relaxing, fun and much needed for all of us.

But that’s it for this one, I hope you enjoyed and I will chat with you next time.

Have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Lions, Lyrics & Lakeshore Laughs: Part One

Posted on by Mama

We’ve been trying to enjoy the summer and take advantage of the beautiful, somewhat humid, weather we’ve been having here. We had a goal to try and do as much as possible with Valeria this summer since she now is beginning to understand and can enjoy it.

We recently went to go visit some family in Wasaga Beach which was an absolute blast. We’ve been up there before and it was so wonderful and peaceful, we are hoping one day to find some property and a home as serene as that.

We left on July 31st, with a three hour drive ahead of us, I prepared for everything. Snacks packed, phone fully charged for Bluey and Duo ABC at the ready, books and even a kids music playlist. Valeria did incredible to be honest. We don’t usually take long drives often and Valeria doesn’t usually nap in the car anymore, but she handled the trip wonderfully.

We arrived mid-afternoon and were greeted with big hugs from my cousin, who’s also one of my best friends. Once settled in, Valeria quickly set off exploring the neighbourhood; alternating between running ahead, holding our hands, and stopping to inspect rocks. Until her little legs got tired and said “Daddy…” in her tiny voice and gesturing to be picked up. By the time we got back, she was ready for a nap. While she rested with Anthony, my cousin and I caught up in the kitchen. Having a professionally trained chef in the family is a gift and when I’m with her I definitely take every opportunity to be in the kitchen with her and we work well together actually. Dinner that night was duck fat roasted potatoes, salad, and roasted orange balsamic chicken. Absolutely delicious!

We had planned to go to the farmers market, but we sat around talking with her family after dinner and time got away from us. The farmers market was closed and we decided instead to go for another little walk with Valeria before she had to go to bed for the night. It was short, she played a little and than off the bed. Anthony went to sleep with her since we forgot the blow-up bed railing at home. I let Anthony know via text that my cousin and I decided to go for a very long walk and talk. It’s something we enjoy doing when we’re together and we caught up and vented about a lot. Once we headed in, we made a snack, sat on the couch and watched a bit of t.v. before the day finally caught up with me. At that point I went to bed and she got a call from her new boyfriend, so she stayed chatting with him on the couch.

The next morning we woke up, made breakfast and we had initially planned to go to the beach, but the schedule was a bit too tight. We had the concert that night, so we decided instead to stick close to home. We went for a beautiful morning walk after breakfast and a bit of playtime. Valeria kept asking to go outside, so it worked out wonderfully. And since she was up way too early, nap time came early. My cousin and I decided to grab a coffee at Starbucks, so we went into town with her brother and dad. Their errands ran a bit longer then expected, but by the time we got home, Valeria and Anthony were awake. We landed on a farmers market down the street since we were short on time. It had chickens (one of Valeria’s favourite animals) and a little store on the farm with local goods. It was very close and surprisingly it didn’t just have chickens but also a hay-bail tracker to climb on for the kiddos. It was nice and I picked up a few things: two BBQ sauces, bee pollen, tea, dried apple slices, and turkey pepperoni sticks. Valeria had fun with the chickens and a chicken had escaped and came VERY close to us, which thrilled her beyond belief. They had little food dispensers, so I got some and Valeria happily threw the food into the pens as she said “Nom nom nom” watching them eat. We had to keep her little fingers out of the fence, however she did manage to actually pet one of the chickens and she was over the moon! She squealed and wiggled after it happened, it was absolutely adorable! After that, she went on the shift hay-bail tractor, which she climbed all over. She kept giggling and going “Beep beep…Maşină!” We headed back to the house after a bit.

When we were home, my zio played with Valeria while I did my make-up for the concert and my cousin started cooking dinner. Dinner was Pasta with Alfredo and left over chicken. However, our Alfredo sauce is not done with cream but simply butter, pasta water and Parmigiano cheese. Chef’s kiss deeeeeelicious let me tell you! Once I was ready, I went into the kitchen to help her so that she could get ready for the night. We quickly ate, finished getting ready and left at 5:30 PM. I instantly missed Valeria and Anthony. I really hate being away from them. Is that normal? Anthony is honestly the best husband for allowing me to indulge in some fun, something I don’t do often.

In hindsight, I should have just drove us but we got dropped off by her brother. We could have left later, just parked and once the concert was done came home. Instead of wandering in a shady area of the city after the concert and calling a Lyft to get back home. But I digress, what’s done is done but I know for next time. We went to see Shawn Desman, a Toronto musical gem and totally nostalgic from my teen years. So we HAD to relive a little bit of our youth! He didn’t come on until 8:30 PM, but we knew every song, danced our asses off and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! The man still has a terrific voice and some impressive dance moves for a 43 year old, just sayin’! However, the concert was shorter than we had expected, but amazing nonetheless. I have video, but sadly can’t upload it, sorry folks!

As stated above, we left the concert and coyote spray in hand at the ready (since pepper spray is illegal to have here), we walked to a McDonald’s to use the rest room. However, we were unaware it was in a shady area of the city and they wouldn’t allow us to use the bathroom. We than had to walk to a Pizza Pizza. The bathroom was heinously disgusting, but we were desperate. We called the Lyft, which the driver proceeded to attempt to chat us up and hit on me. I blatantly ignored and just wanted to get home safely, which we did! Snack, unwinding on the couch before we passed out which was a nice ending to the night.

I’ll end the post here since it’s quite lengthy already, but part two incoming tomorrow!

Have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Visit from my Father-in-law

Posted on by Mama

This post is a little late since it happened back in August, but hey why not write about it anyway!

My husband’s father came to visit from Europe for his daughter’s wedding, I mean how could he miss it, right? He came in on August 21st and left Sept 3, which now seems like a billion years ago, but really has only been a few weeks. His time here was short, flew by in a flash and a bit bitter sweet. Considering he had to go back so soon.

It was the first time I was going to meet him in person and though we had video calls in the past with Valeria and my husband, this was a big deal! Many scenarios ran through my head, all negative, due to my anxiety. My husband hadn’t seen him in nearly 4 years and he wished to spend as much time with him as we could, I happily obliged knowing how much he missed having his father around. Plus, I wanted Valeria to know him and spend as much time as she could before he had to venture back to Europe.

My husband and his brother went to get him from the airport and he safely made it with a few hiccups along the way, mostly while he was in Europe. He accidentally took the wrong train (going the opposite way from the airport) and only to be helped by a nice German woman who directed him in the right direction. Than had a complication with his Canadian Passport, but thankfully they allowed him to board the plane with his European one. Only to land safe and sound at Toronto airport and brought back to the apartment to stay.

When I met him, he greeted me with a big smile, a hug and a kiss on my hand and it made me feel reassured that this visit was going to be a good one. Over the next two weeks I got to know my father-in-law; spending mornings on the balcony with the coffee he’d make for us, chatting both into the morning and late at night (about any topic and he’d regale us with stories of his work or younger years), but he would also play and be marveled by Valeria. Often helping us out when we needed a minute and especially when she wasn’t well at the wedding. My husband got to spend a lot of time with him and his brother while he visited too, which was fantastic and much needed.

Sadly, his last day here I wasn’t able to say goodbye or spend much time with him. My fault really since I had finally crashed and fell asleep with Valeria for her afternoon nap, but my husband knew I needed to sleep and let me rest. However, our plans to spend the day with my father-in-law at my brother-in-law’s place was null and void since I over slept. Something I still feel terrible about to this day. But my husband went to drop him off at the airport nonetheless and I stayed at the apartment with my mother-in-law and Valeria.

All-in-all, the visit was great and the time we had with him was much needed. We promised we’d come visit him in Europe (when that will be, not sure, but hopefully in the near future). But maybe he will come back to visit us before that time, fingers crossed!

But meeting him will be a time I will never forget.

Ciao!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Family Reunion?

Posted on by Mama

Well, this was an interesting one and to be fair, I hadn’t seen some of these people for many, many years!

On Friday, August 17th, we went to my cousin’s house for the night to visit with her and her husband. We are really close, and our husbands get along like you wouldn’t believe. An added bonus to be honest because I’m not sure how we would function if they didn’t. These are Valeria’s Godparents and to be honest the perfect choice. They are sweet, down to earth people and I really can’t imagine our lives without them! The day was great though, and we all had a blast the whole day through!

But the following day was the reunion on my dad’s side. Now, this is where it gets a little complicated, so bare with me and try to follow along. It is a cousin’s reunion for my dad’s mother’s side. Did you get that?

So my aunt was hosting the shindig at her place and as a rule we don’t let anyone hug or kiss Valeria. I know, seems weird, but there is a reason for it and frankly, I don’t really care if it offends people. But of course, someone always HAS to break our rule, which was a cousin’s wife who is….well let’s just say she has her nose up in the air. We ate and tried to be social, but it was hot and we stuck to the basement for the most part. All the kids were down there anyway, so of course we wanted Valeria around them.

I stayed out of the gossip and drama conversation and stuck to talking to my cousin’s wife and their 7 year old daughter, who was absolutely obsessed with Valeria. She’s a shy little girl, so when she asked to hold her, both her mother and I were surprised. We happily said yes and supervised carefully. It didn’t last too long as she found Valeria heavy. We chatted the rest of the time, promising to get together soon before we left.

We left around 5:30 PM as we had to head back to London since my parents were staying the night with my Nonna after the event was over. The animals needed to be cared for and we happily obliged going home to them. The drive home was good, with little traffic and Valeria fell asleep in bed happily.

To say the least, the potluck was delicious and some of the company was great, but we won’t be attending the next one….if one even occurs. Just not what I had expected, but people change over the years, just like I have. The cousins I’m close with, we see often and that’s all that matters.

Until next time!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Travelling Home and A Little Bit of Soccer

Posted on by Mama

I’ll jump right to it, we have had a long day in general with an equally long drive home from my husband’s home town. I will be honest, I am absolutely beat and I think my husband may have fell asleep with the baby tonight. Oh nope….there he is!

My husband drove his mother to work this morning bright and early at 6:15 AM and I stayed with the baby at the apartment. She was sounds asleep….that is until my husband left. Than she whimpered and cried a little, I rushed to grab a bottle from the fridge, came back and attempted to feed her back to sleep to no avail. She was up and tumbling around in the bed. With a yawn, I began to play with her until my husband got home and than he took over. Let’s just say my husband had her down within a half hour. Why can’t I do that? It’s like he’s a freakin’ magician!

We all got some more rest before waking for the day at around 9:45 AM. Yup, that’s a first in a long time, we got to sleep in! Wooooo!!! Once we rolled out of bed; it was our regular morning routine, more play time, packing up, nap and than off we went on the road.

In true Valeria fashion, she decided as we got on the highway that it was time to poop. Sigh….yup an immediate pit-stop for us to change the little one. She was not a happy camper and I don’t blame her after what we witnessed in her diaper. We threw away the diaper in the trash (sorry to whoever has to change that garbage) and went on our way. Between the construction and traffic, the drive was a bit annoying but we made it back home.

Italy was facing Croatia today in Euro Cup, so I texted my brother to see if we could go over to watch and he said yes. So straight from the highway we went to his place. The game started at 3 PM, but right when we got to the house, Valeria had other plans. She was very sleepy and wanted a nap, so my magician of a husband, AGAIN, put her down for a nap almost immediately. Seriously….I don’t understand how he does it!

I was fortunate to watch from kick-off all the way to the stunning last minute goal by Italy. The game was intense, and Italy was battling hard against the Croatian team. Croatia scored the first goal in the second half at the 55 minute mark, but that seemed to only put a fire in the belly of the Italian team. Though Italy had possession most of the remainder of the match, we couldn’t quite get the perfect opportunity to score on Croatia. Which to be fair, Croatia had pretty skilled defenders and goalie on their end, who seemed to keep shutting Italy out. It was beginning to look pretty grim for the boys in blue as the time was running out. And yes, I was screaming in anger at the T.V.

Valeria woke up as the stoppage time began, which was a nail biter and I have to say she is my little lucky charm! If you don’t know what stoppage time is, here is a brief explanation: it’s the period of time that is added to the end of the game because plays were stopped during the game due to injuries, etc. We had eight minutes of stoppage time…..8….minutes. In my humble opinion, Chiesa was brought into the game far too late and really should have started, along with Zaccagni. I highly questioned the various decisions the coach made and why certain players were not pulled off, but that is neither here nor there. But the incredible play that tied the game was by one of our strikers, Mattia Zaccagni, who was set up perfectly by Riccardo Calafiori for a top corner goal. It was a devastating blow for Croatia who was knocked out, but I will be honest….My brother, husband, myself and even Valeria started to bounce due to our excitement! We were cheering happily for our boys in blue!!

Forza Italia!

After the game, we spent a little time with my brother, allowing Valeria to roam about and play with Zio Marco before heading home. Grandma was thrilled to see her and when grandpa got home, he was even more excited. Toots (what he calls head bumps for her) is her favourite with grandpa. Dinner was quickly prepared by yours truly, playtime with grandma and grandpa, dishes done and than the yawns, rubbing of the eyes and light hair pulling began. Baby girl was getting tired! We said good night to grandma and grandpa and off we went to her mats. Daddy had already prepared bottles that were cooling down in the fridge, and we let her crawl around to get any excess energy out. I read her a book and than the cranky sounds began and it was time. She went down without a fight, she was exhausted.

And now I sit here writing my cheesy soccer review and tidbits about the day. But it was ultimately a great day, long and tiring, but great.

I hope you all had a lovely Monday, wherever you are in the world! And let me know in the comments if any of you are watching Euro Cup and who you are rooting for!

Ciao from a very Proud Italian Fan!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Garden Center Adventure

Posted on by Mama

The weather yesterday was cold and raining, for pretty much most of the day, until we saw a glimmering beam of hope from the sun around 3 PM. We were trying to figure out what to do, and I just suggested on a whim, the Garden Center about five minutes away from us. I figured Valeria might like all the different kinds of plants.

Boy was I right!

We spent an hour there looking around, both inside and out, and let her touch all the different plants. We were careful not to damage anything and we really couldn’t keep her from reaching and wanting to feel everything! You will see her little hand in a few photos, but her head was on a swivel looking at all the colours, textures and types.

Now don’t ask me everything we saw, there were probably over a 100 different plants; between fruit, floral, herb, shrubs, cacti, and trees.

She really didn’t want to leave, but it was getting late and she was getting sleepy. Enjoy some of my favourites plants and I apologize for the quality, they were taken with my phone.

Have a wonderful day wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Reading Time

Posted on by Mama

Yesterday was a bit of chaos as we were undecided about coming to visit my husband’s family for the weekend. The weather was bad when we woke up and at first he decided he didn’t want to risk driving in a downpour with Valeria in the car. I was grateful for the decision, however I knew how much he wanted to go, so I said if it clears and he would like to we could go later that day. The weather cleared up and the afternoon wasn’t suppose to be too bad, cloudy but no longer rainy so off we went.

The day wasn’t bad, bumps here and there; Valeria got restless in the car quite a few times, and I was falling asleep at one point, so I asked my husband to stop and grab me a coffee. “Dollar” drink days at McDonald’s, delicious iced coffees for the win!

We arrived and had a wonderful time with his brother, his wife and kids. They were kind enough to order pizza, however I didn’t want to burden them by telling them I’m not eating much carbohydrates these days. However, my husband mentioned it to his brother and they went and grabbed me a steak from the butcher shop. I had a DELICIOUS steak and salad for dinner. I don’t know how his brother Barbequed this thing but man, was it tender and juicy. I was grateful.

After the kids were fed and back in the swing of play time, our oldest nephew was holding a book. I asked him if he’d like me to read it to him and he politely said “Sure!” I was happy to, if anyone knows me, they know that I love reading and I love when kids want to read. That’s why I’m obsessive about wanting to get Valeria books….seriously it’s a problem!

He sat down on a chair beside me and it was a customized book with his name in it, the book was filled with nursery rhymes. I knew a fair number of them, and I would poke and tickle him as I read and sang. Eventually his brother came over and sat with us, and Valeria sat on daddy’s lap. She knew immediately when I go into my reading/sing-song voice what I was doing. The kids sat there as I read and sang to them, laughing and enjoying it.

It was a nice moment I shared with the kids, and it’s something I enjoy doing. It was very special for me.

After a bit we called it quits and to be fair it was getting late. We needed to get back to my mother-in-law’s apartment. Valeria was getting tired and so was I from the day to be honest.

But that moment with the kids, I really hope we can have more of those.

Do you have any special moments with your kids, nieces/nephews or even grandchildren that you really cherish?

Ciao!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Mini Vacation – Cousins Trip!

Posted on by Mama

We took a little mini vacation to visit my cousins a bit north of Toronto and we left on Monday afternoon. The drive was suppose to be about two and a half hours, which was the longest Valeria has ever been in the car.

We figured leaving mid afternoon we would miss all the traffic, for a Monday we weren’t expecting much to begin with. Well….we were so wrong! We hit major traffic twice on the way, first was due to some construction on the highway – seems they are fixing or possibly widening the highway and the other was because people are too nosey for their own good and wanted to slow down to watch a cop deal with a multiple car collision. Thankfully that one didn’t seem bad, but still unnecessary to slow down to spectate. In the end it took about three and a half hours to get there. Thankfully Valeria was a little angel and didn’t really fuss at all on the drive, we were so fortunate.

We got there and my cousin Antoinette (who is a trained chef) made about six pizzas, all kinds of varieties and oh man were they absolutely delicious! My favourite was the arugula prosciutto pizza with a balsamic reduction drizzle….MUAH chef’s kiss! We also celebrated my zia’s birthday with her favourite ice cream cake. We sat around talking and just catching up. It was such a nice evening. Sadly my zia and zio had to work the next day so it was an early night for them, Valeria was exhausted so Anthony went to be with her and my other cousin Gaetano was pretty tired and went up to be not long after every one else. Antoinette and I stayed up talking on the couch about everything and anything until nearly five in the morning. We couldn’t help it, we needed to catch up in person….though we do talk every day through texts, that’s not the point!

Once we got some rest, though Valeria had other plans extremely early that morning, we all got ready for the day and headed to the mall. Just something to do on a very gloomy day and just to get Valeria out of the house. The parking lot looked packed, but the mall was pretty quiet with customers. We bought a few things; I got a brown cowboy hat, a summer hat, sunglasses and some crystals. My cousin Antoinette pretty much got the same, and we also had to grab coffee, a necessity with how little we really slept.

It was funny at one point my husband turned to us and laughed “You two are so scary similar it’s hilarious, you are holding your coffee and shopping bags literally the same way. You are two peas in a pod!” We looked at each other and he was right, we laughed and she said “Well, we are family.” Valeria was smiling and laughing as we walked around, people watching as Anthony carried her in the chest carrier. She was loving life and man she kept having people smile and wave to her, it was so cute. She is very much like me, she loves to people watch.

After a few hours, we headed home and had some Japanese food for dinner at home. Valeria tried rice for the first time, along with some cheese and potato with butter. We didn’t have any meat for her to have really but she wasn’t overly interested in food. She was pretty exhausted. We all played with her after dinner and then McFussem came out (her I’m exhausted alter ego) and we knew to put her down for the night. Anthony put her to bed and stayed with her and again everyone went to bed fairly early. Ant and I stayed up chatting and when her mom got home from work, well let’s just say we didn’t get to bed until four in the morning. We were just having a blast sitting around the table chatting, telling stories and snackin.

Once again, we all got a bit of sleep and than up for the day. Thankfully my zia didn’t have to work, but unfortunately Antoinette had to go in for Noon. We spent some time with my cousin and my zia, everyone else had to work early, but we made sure to say our goodbyes the night before. Eventually we had to say our goodbyes that morning and headed out. We dropped my cousin off at work, stopping in quickly to grab some pastries from her.

The drive was pretty good, we had to make a pit-stop for Valeria’s diaper change and we made it home in two and a half hours exactly. When we got home, we unloaded the car and Valeria and I took a very much needed nap. We both slept for hours, it was glorious.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and unwinding, but I missed them as soon as we left. But we will make the trip a few times I think this summer. I love them so much and so glad we reconnected.

I’m going to end it here and I apologize for the lengthy post, but this was only a small portion of the last two days. Hope you enjoyed and I will have more adventures to come!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

That Bridal Moment…

Posted on by Mama

There comes a time in most women’s life when a wedding and marriage are in their very near future. The thought of planning a wedding, especially shopping for their perfect dress, gets them giddy and excited.

Before you start screaming in my comments ‘Congratulations!’, please refrain. My one sister-in-law is getting married and currently going through the motions of dress shopping.

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend an appointment with her yesterday, she booked a few the last two weeks, but I was only able to go to this one. And I have to say it was a lot of fun! There was her friend, her fiance’s mom, my mother-in-law (her mom) and myself.

She tried on numerous dresses; of course we all took a ton of photos and had various opinions on the dresses, as you do. I kept asking a lot of questions and informing her of what she could possibly do with this or that. I kept asking how she felt in the dress and what she liked or didn’t like about them. Trying to include her voice and opinion into the conversation. She was gorgeous regardless of the dress, but it is her day.

At one point, I spoke up and basically said “We can give you our opinions, but it’s ultimately your dress, what you envision yourself in and your wedding photos, because those will be memories you look at 10 years from now. So pick the dress YOU want.” I also got a chance to do that privately and told her the same thing; basically stating Fuck everybody else’s opinions, do what makes you happy. Excuse my language, but I wanted her to know I had her back, I support her decision and it’s HER choice.

She decided to go out and pick two more dresses to try before the appointment ended.

That last ball gown dress…..

The smile on her face said it ALL! It was her personality in dress form and it was perfect. She loved everything about it and she even claimed she felt like a bride. She could dance in it (she kept twirling and shaking to see if she could), it was light weight, pure white, a Tull skirt with pick ups, strapless and a soft little bow detail at the waist. It screamed her and I told her as much, everyone was also in agreeance.

The bridal consultant glammed her up with a sparkly veil and just wow!

Sadly, she walked out of the appointment without the dress. She has two other appointments to go to and then she will make her decision, which is understandable. We spoke about it a bit on the ride home and the things she could do with the dress to take it to the next level; hair, make-up, jewelry, shoes, etc. She is naturally a beautiful woman so the dress doesn’t take away from that, it just helps accentuate those features.

All night I was trying to be a positive support system and encourage her to make the decision based on her vision and not anyone else. I hope I helped.

But to see a bride have her moment during a dress fitting….

It’s priceless!

Ciao!